Electrode supporting means for electrical precipitators



Sept. 7, 1954 R. A. MARRIOTT 2,688,375

ELECTRODE SUPPORTING MEANS FOR ELECTRICAL PRECIPITATQRS i 1 i I i 5 I I E l l t s p I 15 I 2 I z i .1, 39 i l 1 R112: 4 5

INVENTOR' Fla/MR0 A. Mn/mlorr ATTORNEY Sept. 7, 1954 R. A. MARRIOTT ELECTRODE SUPPORTING MEANS FOR ELECTRICAL PRECIPITATORS '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 25, 1952 Patented Sept. 7, 1954 UNITED STATES ELECTRODE SUPPORTING MEANS FOR ELECTRICAL PRECIPITATOBS Richard A. Marriott, Salt Lake City, Utah, as-

signor to American smelting and Refining Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 25, 1952, Serial No. 295,457

a Glaims. 01. 1837) 1 2 This invention relates to electrical precipitators guide element serves to catch and retain the and particularly to electrical precipitators of the weight when for any reason the wire is broken.

weighted wire electrode type, and providesabifur- In this connection, the center of gravity of the cated weight element and guide means therefor. weight preferably lies toward the bifurcated ends Breakage of the wire in a weighted wire electric 5 of the weight at a point below the geometric cenprecipitator may take place for a number of reater of the cross-section of the guide element at sons, including weakening of the wire due to corthe point of contact where the weight rests thererosionor burning due to arcing. Heretofore, on after the wire is broken. In order that the when such breakage occurred, it was necessary weight may rest with greater stability on the guide for personnel to enter the precipitator in order to element, the center of gravity of the weight may recover the weight. In many instances, this is a be disposed substantially in the longitudinal axis particularly nasty job and may involve considof the weight. Additionally or alternatively, the erable hazard especially when the precipitator guide member may also be provided with means is coated with noxious dusts or acids and the like. such as grooves which may loosely and slidably In addition, where the bottom of the precipitator engage the legs of the bifurcated weight so that is provided with mechanical means for removing the guide element will catch and retain the weight the material precipitated from gases, the weight upon the breaking of the wire. In the event of may fall into and damage the moving parts. breakage, the weight which is retained by the The principal object of the invention is to overguide element may be fished out through the top come these difiiculties. Another object is to proof the precipitator.

vide an electrical precipitator in which the weight lf'he invention is further illustrated in the acattached to a broken wire may be recovered companying drawings. It should be understood, through the top of the precipitator. These and however, that the drawings are presented for other objects and advantages will become apparpurposes of illustration and that the invention ent from the following description in which the in its broadest aspects is not limited thereto. invention is described more fully. In the accompanying drawings in which like Broadly, the invention involves an electrical reference characters refer to like parts, precipitator of the weighted wire electrode type Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a weighted wire having a bifurcated weight element attached to electrode precipitator provided with bifurcated and supported by a, wire electrode and also hav- Weights and guide elements for the weights.

ing a guide element disposed between the legs of Fig. 2 is a view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1. the bifurcated weight. The weighted electrode Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the wire electrode may be either a discharge or a collector electrode of Fig. 1 showing the guide element and the bialthough in most commercial precipitators the furcated Weight.

wire electrode isadischarge electrode. Fig. 4 is a View taken along the line 4-4 of Preferably, the weighted element is U shaped. Fig. 3.

In many precipitator designs, a plurality of spaced Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but in which vertical wire discharge electrodes are aligned the U shaped weight has a semi-circular shank. therein in a transverse plane or a series of par- Referring to the drawings, there is shown an c11 1 transverse p these and Qther Wire electrical precipitator having a casing It provided electrode precipitators, a guide element common with a removable top 9 and 21150 provided t to each 01" the W t element/S in y particular gas inlet conduit 12 and gas outlet conduit [3. o p g may b d, S s. example, those The casing it defines a precipitator chamber l4. hts in a singl pl or groups of planes o Disposed in this chamber are a plurality of colgroups within a plane. The weight is supported lector electrodes l5 and weighted wire discharge by the wire electrode and holds the wire taut and electrodes it.

straight so as to prevent electrical shorting. The The vertical plate collector electrodes F5 are weight may also contact the guide element and suitably attached or suspended at spaced interbe partially supported thereby so long as the vals in the precipitator in parallel planes therein Weight itself still supplies suflicient tension to the as shown and may rest on or be slidably attached wire to keep it taut and straight. to channels l3: One of these channels may be The guide element may fit loosely between the grounded through lead I 9. The discharge eleclegs of the weight. It serves to prevent or introdes it are also disposed in a series of parallel hibit swinging of the wire electrode and thereby vertical planes with the electrodes in each plane also prevents electrical arcing. In addition, the adjacent a collector electrode. The discharge electrodes are suspended at spaced intervals from pipes or angle members 20 which may be removably attached to angles 2| and 22. The angles 2! and 22 may be suitably attached to and electrically insulated from the upper portion of the precipitator. One of these latter angles, such as 2|, may be connected to a suitable electrical source (not shown) by lead 23.

As shown more particularly in Figs. 3 and 4, the tops of the wire discharge electrodes are attached to angles 20. This may be accomplished by looping the wire through an appropriate hole 24 provided therein and then twisting the wire in the manner shown. A bifurcated weight element 25, preferably U-shaped, is suitably attached at its shank portion to the lower end of the wire electrode and is supported thereby with the legs of the weight substantially vertically disposed. The legs of the weight are spaced from each other so as to fit loosely over a guide element. Preferably, each of these weights is disposed below the lower edge of the collector electrodes 15 and each of the weights in a group of discharge electrodes attached to the same angle 20 are in horizontal alignment. Preferably, also, all the weights in the precipitator are disposed in the same horizontal plane.

The legs of each of the U-shaped weights have disposed therebetween a guide element 26. As shown, a common guide element may be provided for the weights attached to each group of Wire discharge electrodes adjacent a collector electrode. The guide elements are preferably rods of circular cross-sectional area although other shapes may also be used. Each of such common guide elements 26 may be removably attached at their ends to angles 21 and 28 respectively. These latter angles may be suitably attached to and supported by angles 2| and 22 respectively by means of the four vertical angles 29. Alternatively, the elements 26 may be attached to the side of the precipitator and may be suitably electrically insulated therefrom.

The guide elements prevent the weights and the wire electrodes from swinging so as to prevent electrical shorting in the precipitator. These guide elements also catch and retain the weights in the event a wire electrode breaks. The weights may contact the guide elements and may be partially supported thereby so long as the wire electrodes bear a sufficient portion of the weight of the bifurcated element to keep the wire taut. Preferably, however, under normal conditions the weights are suspended in the manner shown and out of contact with the guide elements except as the legs of the weights may make contact therewith due to swinging or vibration.

In the preferred embodiment, the center of gravity of each of the U-shaped weights lies in its vertical axis and at a point substantially below the center 36 of the guide element 26. When for any reason a wire electrode breaks, the weight falls and rests stably and loosely upon the guide element, as shown by the dotted line portions of Figs. 3 and 5. From this position, the weight can be fished out of the precipitator through its removable top H at any appropriate time such as during a shutdown period. Any suitable device such as a wire provided with a hook or a noose may be used to fish out the weight.

To facilitate the fishing-out operation, as well as to assist in guiding the weight over the guide element 26 when installing a new weight through the top of the precipitator, the legs 3| of the precipitator through outlet l3.

01' the weights 25 may terminate in points. Such points may be formed by the edges 32 which may slope upwardly and inwardly. Additionally, the shank portion of the bifurcated weight may be provided with an eye element. In this latter connection, the configuration of the shank of the weight at the bifurcation may be such with respect to the guide element so as to provide an opening between the bifurcation and the guide element when the weight rests on the guide after a wire electrode breaks. Such construction is illustrated in Fig. 3 by the sides 33 and 34 which form a V in the shank portion 35 of the weight 25 and provide the opening 36 when the weight rests on the guide as shown in the dotted-line portion of this figure. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 5 the weight 25 may be provided with a semi-circular shank 31 which rests loosely on the guide 26 when the wire electrode I6 breaks. Thus, in fishing out the weight a hook may be inserted in the opening 36 of Fig. 3 or a hook or noose may be slipped around and up one of the legs of the weight in Figs. 3 and 5 to engage the weight at its shank portion.

If desired, cross-guide members 39 may also be provided on each side of the weights 25 to prevent or inhibit swinging or vibration of the weights longitudinally of the guides 26. The cross-guide members may be rods disposed transversely of the guides 26 and resting thereon with their ends attached to or resting upon the supports 40. Alternatively, the cross-guide may be small cross-bars of a length sufficient to engage the legs of the weight 25. In such a modification the guide elements 39 may be welded or otherwise suitably attached at right angles to the guides 26 and on each side of the weights 25.

In operation, gases containing suspended matter pass into the electrical precipitator through inlet [2 and then pass upwardly between the electrodes. The particles in the gas, as the gas moves between the discharge and collector electrodes, are moved toward and deposited upon the collector electrodes. The cleaned gas passes out The deposited material ultimately drops into the bottom of the precipitator which may be of hopper-like construction 38 and also may be provided with mechanical removal means such as a screw conveyor 38 In the event a wire electrode breaks, the weight is retained by the guide element and does not fall into the bottom of the precipitator where it may damage the mechanical removal means.

Alternative to the above embodiment of the drawings, either or both the discharge or the collector electrode may be a weighted wire electrode. Instead of being plate-like structures, the collector electrodes l5 may be tubular in shape having circular or polygonal cross-section areas with each such electrode surrounding one or more discharge electrodes. The gases to be cleaned may also pass vertically downward through the precipitator. The precipitator itself and the elements disclosed therein may be fabricated of any suitable material which will withstand the con ditions obtaining therein. Thus, for example, where ordinary dusts are to be treated, the precipitator in its various parts may be fabricated of ordinary steel or special steel, as stainless steel. On the other hand, where acid mists and the like are to be treated, lead coated equipment may be used. The bifurcated weights may be composed of any suitable material which preferably is a dense material such as lead.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof. The herein-described embodiments, therefore, are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

What is claimed is:

1. In an electrical precipitator of the weighted wire electrode type, the improvement comprising a bifurcated weight element attached to and supported by a wire electrode, and a guide element disposed between the legs of the bifurcated element said weight element by its mass alone holding said electrode taut, the distribution of the mass of said Weight element being such that when unsupported by said electrode said weight rests stably upon said guide with the opening between the legs of the weight disposed below said guide and substantially in vertical alignment therewith.

2. In an electrical precipitator for separating suspended materials from gases, a vertical wire electrode, a U-shaped weight element supported by and attached to the lower end of the wire electrode, and a guide element disposed between the legs of the weight said weight element by its mass alone holding said electrode taut, the distribution of the mass of said weight element being said weight rests stably upon said guide with the opening between the legs of the weight disposed below said guide and substantially in vertical alignment therewith.

3. In an electrical precipitator for separating suspended material from gases, a plurality of spaced vertical wire discharge electrodes aligned in a transverse plane in the precipitator and adjacent a collector electrode therein, a U-shaped weight element attached to the lower end of each wire and supported thereby, and a guide element common to each of the weight elements in said plane disposed between the legs of each of said U-shaped elements each of the said weight elements by its mass alone holding its respective wire discharge electrode taut, the distribution of the mass of each of said weight elements being such that when unsupported by its respective wire discharge element each weight rests stably upon said guide with the opening between the legs of the weight element disposed below said guide and substantially in a vertical aligmnent therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 558,171 Great Britain Dec. 23, 1943 

